These are the glaziest roasted carrots you’ll ever eat. This easy recipe requires minimal prep time and tending to, making it a strong choice for a lazy weekend supper or as a side dish during a holiday feast—whether it’s Easter, Rosh Hashanah, Christmas, or Thanksgiving. With their sweet-hot kick, these glazed carrots compliment everything from sweet potatoes to lamb, ham to green bean casserole.
Leave the baby carrots for another day and look for long, slender carrots without many cracks or roots, ideally with their green tops still attached. Brown sugar and maple syrup play up the root vegetable’s natural sweetness, but can make a mess of a baking tray, so be sure to line it well with foil, not parchment paper, for easy cleanup. Roasting in a single layer in a hot oven helps ensure perfectly cooked carrots with lightly crispy edges, instead of a soft, limp texture. Just keep an eye on them as they near the end of the cooking time since that sugar can darken quickly. Adding a bit of flaky salt as a final garnish helps balance the sweetness.
If you’re looking for an even simpler weeknight roasted carrot recipe with olive oil and black pepper, head this way.
Ingredients
4 servings
2
lb. medium carrots, tops trimmed to about ½”, scrubbed
6
Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
⅓
cup (packed) light brown sugar
⅓
cup pure maple syrup
¾
tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
Flaky sea salt (optional)
